


Your Friendly College Spider-Man

by Sheena_Stalwart



Category: Spider-Man - All Media Types, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
Genre: College, Cute, Empire State University, F/M, Friendship/Love, Love, Romance, kiss
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-03
Updated: 2017-12-14
Packaged: 2019-02-09 23:53:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 9,390
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12899565
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sheena_Stalwart/pseuds/Sheena_Stalwart
Summary: You and Peter were childhood friends, until your dad’s job moved you to New Jersey for your high school years. After spending your first two years saving money by going to community college- you have just transferred to Empire State University for your Junior year when a certain masked hero saves you from a mugging. There's an immediate familiarity that you can't quite put your finger on and an unexpected attraction as he gives you advice about your life problems.





	1. A Walk Home

Oh man, it's almost 4am, you think to yourself. Rubbing your tired eyes with the sleeves of your ESU hoodie, you decide that it's time to call it a night and leave the library. You cram your textbooks and laptop into your backpack and begin the trek back to your shared studio apartment five or so blocks away. 

You step outside and the chilly autumn air bites your skin through the sweatshirt. You wrap your scarf around your mouth and nose and put your hood up. The streets are an eery quiet. The kind of quiet where you hope it stays that way because anything that makes a noise is surely up to no good at this hour. Man, you really need to stop putting yourself in these situations. You were raised in this city. You know better than to walk alone at night. But nevertheless, the situation is what it is and you really need to go home and sleep. 

Your about two blocks from your apartment when you hear a cacophonous sound from a darkened alleyway you are passing and a hand swipes at the nape of your neck latching onto your backpack. Shocked, you let out a very undignified and dying cat-like scream as you instinctively pull away from the unwashed man. 

In a blink of an eye, just as quickly as the mugger attacked you, he was knocked to the ground by a blurry force, consequently making him release the grip on you. 

The mugger, knocked further from the streetlights appeared to be held down by something. You squinted, frozen in place by fear and desperately trying to comprehend why the mugger was struggling to get up. 

Then a figure started to emerge from the darkness. Presumably the blurry one that knocked down the mugger. When the figure reaches the light, clearly with intent of walking towards you, you instinctively scream and jump back. 

As soon as you do, you feel silly, realizing know that the masked figure walking towards you is a well known Avenger and city crime fighter. 

He is taken aback by your scream, swiveling around looking for another threat to fend off. Realizing that there is no one but himself who could have caused the scream, he raises an eyebrow in confusion and gestures to himself. 

“I'm sorry… I'm… afraid of spiders” you say, quick on your feet. 

Spider-Man bends over in laughter and you crack a chuckle at your own joke. “That's a good one- no one has ever said that to me before,” he says recovering from laughter, “Are you alright, miss?”

You take a deep, shaky breath still trying to ease your adrenaline rush. “Yeah, I'm fine I think. Thank you for…” you gesture to the webbed up criminal who has resigned from trying to escape and is now just laying there, “whatever that was.” 

He seemingly smiles at you and puffs out his chest with pride. There is a moment of silence between you two. You half expect him to bound away to find some other criminal to web up, but it must be a slow night because he lingers. So you introduce yourself to break the silence. 

You remove your hood, pull the scarf away from your face and extend your right hand, “I'm (Y/N), by the way.” 

Spider-Man’s eyes widen with surprise and for a second he almost forgets to shake your hand leaving you feeling a tad awkward. 

He shakes the surprised look off his face and replies, “I-I’m Spider-Man… I mean- I guess you knew that…” You laugh lightly at his genuine and humble awkwardness. It averts your expectation of what meeting a superhero hero would be like. It is a pleasant surprise. “So w-what are you doing back in New York?”

“Back?” Now it's your turn to be surprised and confused. 

He shakes his head, “I-I don't know why said ‘back’ that was weird. Sorry.”

“Why would you ask me why I was in New York to begin with? How come you didn't just assume I was a permanent resident?”

“I- uh- well- uh… I guess I just assumed that because you were wearing an ESU sweatshirt and you were walking around at night alone that you probably weren't from around here. You really shouldn't walk alone at night, by the way, it's very dangerous. Especially if you're a pre-- a nice woman, like yourself.” 

You're suspicious of his reasoning but you're also almost certain that he was about to call you pretty. You can't help but feel flattered to be admired by a superhero when you're in sweats and have bags under your eyes.   
“Well, if you must know…Mr. Spider-Man?... I actually grew up in Queens. However, I moved to New Jersey just before high school, went to community college there for two years and now I am back to attend ESU.”

He laughed, “Mr. Spider-Man? Do I seem like an old man to you?”

“No!.. I mean- I don’t know.. Maybe your genes keep you young and you’re actually like 100 years old- I have no idea! I was just trying to be polite just in case!”

“Well, if you must know… Miss (Y/N)... I am not a 100 years old. I also go to ESU and will be graduating after this year.” 

“Oh wow, I didn’t know Spider-Man attended ESU… you think that would be something they advertise at orientation or something when they mention famous alumni.”

“Well- that’s because Spider-Man doesn’t go to ESU, the uh- real me- goes to ESU.”

“Oh,” you blush from feeling a little stupid, “of course. That makes a lot of sense. I guess it would be weird if you had to go to classes in your suit and uh- I guess I should get going… it’s late or uh- early I guess.” You start to bow out of your odd encounter with the masked man. 

“Of course- That’s right! You probably need to go to bed or something.”

You start to scurry on your way down the block when you hear him call, “Wait! Wait! It’s dangerous out there! I should walk you home!”

“But what about the guy in the alley?”

“Eh- the webbing will hold until morning when the cops start to sweep the area. He’ll be harmless laying there until then.” He catches up to you and you both walk in silence for half a block. 

“You know my place is really only a block or so away… I promise I won’t try to get mugged again between here and there if you have other things to attend to or… other people to save I guess…”

“Nah, don’t worry about, it’s been a pretty slow night. It’s my pleasure to walk you home”

Then the thought occurs to you, “Well, what if I don’t want some strange masked man knowing where I live- you could be an imposter and a serial killer for all I know.”

“I’m the real deal. I promise- I mean- c’mon- I swung down on a web for crying out loud.”

You chuckle, “I guess that’s pretty convincing.”

“Plus… maybe I want to check-in with you again.”

You’re shocked and almost blushing, “Wow I didn’t realize Spider-Man was so ‘full service’ to the victims he saves…”

“Well- I mean- not usually. But I just meant that I would really like to see you again. You know- I guess- only if you want to see me again.” He says as you two arrive at the entrance of your apartment complex.

You can’t hide the grin that creeps up on your face and when you look at him, he seems to return the smile. “I would really like to see you again too, Spider-Man. Feel free to swing by anytime… uh literally, I guess.”

You turn away from him and walk up to unlock the lobby door. When he says, “I’m- uh- very good at science by the way! You know… like if you ever needed help with studying or something…” 

The dorky desperation in his voice is so comforting and familiar for some reason. “Thanks, but I already finished taking my science classes. But you can come by if you ever need help with writing or life advice or something. I’m pretty good at those.”

“That’s good to know! I definitely could use some help with both of those things…”

You open the lobby door and step inside, “Goodnight, Spider Man,” you call over your shoulder flashing a grin. 

“Goodnight, (Y/N)!”


	2. He Returns (Finally)

A few weeks pass and you’re pretty sure your encounter with Spider-Man was just a stress-induced, sleep deprived delusion, though you still couldn’t get it out of your mind. Despite some of the awkwardness, there was something comforting about him. The way he talked or his mannerisms or something seemed to strike a familiarity. But you couldn’t quite place it. When you weren’t studying, in class, or sleeping, you were wracking your brain, reviewing the encounter over and over again in your head trying to place who he reminded you of.

You were sitting on your bed, next to the window, reading a textbook when there was an alarming knock. You let out a startled scream and turned to the window to see your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man staring through the window. You couldn’t help but smile. You weren’t delusional after all. You open the window and gesture for Spider-Man to sit next to you on your bed.   
“How did you know which window was mine?” You ask.

“Well,” he let out a long tense breath, “I just kind of started peeking in all of the windows until I found you.”

“What? That’s crazy! You’re lucky I was home and my curtains weren’t closed.”

“Actually… I came by earlier today and you were not home… but I came across a few people that were… two old ladies called me a pervert and threw a shoe at me…”

You laugh. A kind of horrified, yet relieved laugh. “I guess you kind of deserved that. So what brings you here?”

He hands you a typed essay on about whether or not the US is a hegemonic state. You grab a pen and immediately start marking up the pages. 

“You must be really good at science.” You say without turning your attention away from the paper. 

“What? What makes you say that?”

You flash him a cheeky smile, “Because your writing kind of sucks. You definitely didn't get into ESU because of your essay.”

“Well, you're not wrong, I guess. I got full scholarship for science.” 

“Wow, well aren't you just all that in a bag of chips?” 

“I'm sorry I didn't really mean for it to come out as a brag- I'm just embarrassed that my writing is apparently so bad. I don't want you to think I'm an idiot or something.” 

You finish reading the essay. The pages are slaughtered by the mark-ups and suggestions you've made. “You know,” you start, “I work for the school’s writing center. You can come by for editing or tutoring anytime as your real self. I get new clients all the time, so I don't think you have to worry about me recognizing you.” 

“Hmm, maybe I'll take you up on that.” He let out a deep tensed breath. 

“What’s up?” You ask concerned. 

“It’s just that- well- it’s easy to hide how nervous I am around you with my mask on,” he let out an uneasy chuckle. 

“Oh, you think you’re hiding it so well now?” you laugh light-heartedly, “Why do I make you nervous? I’m the one that’s rightfully nervous! You’re a superhero for goodness sake and I’m just… really average.” You laugh at your pitiful self deprecation. 

“Average? Is that what you think of yourself as?” he turned to you with surprise, “You are sorely mistaken, little missy. You are quite the catch and well above average on all my standards. You’re absolutely gorgeous, you’re care about others more than anyone I’ve ever met, you have a sharp wit, you’re sassy and you’re always down for an adventure. You’re any sane man’s dream girl!”

“How could you possibly deduce any of that about me from a short conversation we had a few weeks ago? Unless of course, I have met the real you.”

“Well- uh- we have a mutual friend! Peter Parker. He- uh- told me a lot about you when we became friends after you moved away.”

“Ned?”

“Nope! Don’t even try to guess. He never would’ve mention me. I was- shy… or something..” he mumbled under his breath. He was wringing his hands in his lap. 

“Does Peter know that you’re Spider-Man?”

“Uh- yeah- actually he is the only one that does! So yeah, that’s why he doesn’t talk about me. Yep, that’s the reason!”

“Uh huh,” you say, entirely suspicious of this stranger’s story. 

“You know what- you should talk to Peter again… I’m sure he would love to catch up with you again. He could definitely also use your help with writing. I mean- you think my writing sucks… you should take a look at Peter’s.”

“I don’t know about that. I don’t know if I want Peter in my life again…” you sigh heavily. 

“What! Why? Why not?” Spider-Man asked with a desperation. 

“It’s kind of hard to explain… and I’m not so sure that I want to spill this personal stuff to a stranger.”

“Why not? People spill their problems to me all the time on my rounds! Nothing is better than lifting a weight off your chest by telling a masked hero that you never have to encounter again if you don’t want to.”

“You make a good point,” you admit. 

“So spill.. What stupid shit did my well-meaning boy Peter do to you?” he said crossing his legs, resiting his chin on a closed fist, ready to listen. 

You started to tell Spidey your story. You told him about how Peter was one of your closest childhood friends. Even withstanding through middle school, and even then, at that young age, you started to feel a growing tension between you and Peter. As you both started to mature into your teenage bodies, you formed a deep bond and a bit of a crush on Peter. But when Peter went on the high school, the two of you began to drift apart a little. You were temporarily in two different spheres, causing a disconnect in your friendship. You remember hoping that Peter would ask you to his first Homecoming dance but he decided to go stag with friends instead. 

 

When you moved away to New Jersey the very next year things only got worse between you two. Communication lessened even more. It was reduced to catching up only every few months and the occasional text message. When you two did get the meet up at your favorite New York diner in Queens… Peter seemed to have grown way out of your league. Ever the skinny white boy that he was, he became more brawny and toned. He was a lot more confident and coordinated than he was before. While still dorky and a little socially awkward, he carried it off well. He bragged about being a star on the academic team and he was always wrapped up in some girl. Some whining futile plight over Liz, Gwen or Mary Jane- the asshole was always too oblivious to realize he could have any one of them if he just asked. 

You hated encouraging him to ask out these beautiful girls that would inevitably swoon at his feet.. But it was clear that Peter was way above your level at this point. You just wanted to see him happy. Even if it was with someone else. 

Still, it wore on you. High school was quite a rough time for you. You went through a lot. (Insert some emotionally traumatic thing that happened to you. Don’t lie. You have one.) All you wanted was for Peter to be there for you. To comfort you. To support you. To protect you from any further pain. Alas, he always seemed to be saving everyone but you. 

He even cancelled a few of your rare hang outs, for arbitrary reasons like Liz’s computer breaking down. He was an unreliable, seemingly uninterested friend when you needed an anchor and a shoulder to lean on. 

Spider-Man was solemnly silent as you explained all of this. His eyes looked lost in sadness. He told you that Peter didn’t even know about (that traumatic thing you experienced) and he apologized deeply on Peter’s behalf. Your eyes were brimming with tears. You didn’t really think it affected you that much anymore, but apparently it did. Eventually, your eyes filled to capacity, and the strain of hold them back becomes too much, and a tear escapes down your cheek. Spider-Man reaches over and gently brushes it away from your face. Then he wraps his arms around you and pulls you close, onto his chest. You take in his scent and put your arms around his waist. You feel the strong urge to let yourself cry a little more in the safety of Spider-Man’s comforting strong arms. You try to stay strong and take in slow deep breaths that shake involuntarily. 

“I’m so sorry, (Y/N)... I wish I had known… I wish I could’ve been there to save you…”

You whimper a little as you bury your face into the crook of his neck. 

“I promise you, both Peter and I, will never let something like that happen to you again. We will always be there for you. I know Peter wants to reconnect with you and be back in your life. I know he screwed up. But please, (Y/N), please give him a second chance to make things right.”

“I don’t know, Spidey. Some friendships are just meant to break off. Even if it's no one’s fault, it is best left undone,” you let out a shaky breath. “Plus, I feel like my life is in shambles right now and I’m sure Peter is dating some brilliant, famous ballerina, working on a noble prize and curing cancer. I really don’t feel like having all of that rubbed in my face right now.”

“Pshh,” Spider- Man scoffed, “Peter has definitely not been doing any of those things. In fact, he’s barely keeping things together himself. He’s going through a rough patch too… he could actually really use a woman like you in his life.”

“I doubt that, man. He’s beyond my reach. He could have any number of women in his life if he really wanted. There is no need for someone as baseline and full of baggage as me.”

“Stop that, (Y/N).” Spider-Man quickly pulled away from the embrace to look you hard in the eyes, “Quit being so self-deprecating! Believe me- no not even that- believe in YOURSELF!” he huffed. “Jeez! You know why Peter was always bragging to you in high school all those years? Because he was trying to impress you! Trying to trick you for even a second that he was worthy of you!”

“I can’t believe you! I wish I could- trust me! But I have heard him talk about those other girls and it broke my heart-”

“Those other girls? Yeah- they were pretty- they helped pass the time of the shit hole that is highschool. But that’s because you- YOU- were a goddess to Peter! He couldn’t even conceive a possible scenario where someone as beautiful, caring and witty as you would lower yourself to date him! He was so nervous around you at those diner dates that he spent the entire day before rehearsing what he was going to tell you!”  
“Then why did he cancel on me so often… huh?”

 

“Because he was sav- Because… he was… urgently busy with things he couldn’t tell you about. He wanted- SO BADLY- to tell you all about it but he couldn’t. If he did- it would put you in too much danger. And… he wouldn’t be able to live with himself if anything bad happened to you because of him…” Spider-Man said, casting a solemn, downward glance. 

“I wish that were true- and I suppose it might be. But the truth is- I can’t afford to put myself out there on the word of a man I don’t really know that well. If Peter really does think all these things… he is going to have to tell me it himself. He can’t let Spider-Man do all his bidding for him.”

“That’s fair,” Spider-Man nodded. “I’ll make sure he comes to your tutoring hours. And uh- I guess I should get going and make these changes to my paper.” Spider-Man opened my window and took a deep breath. He shot a web out the window and prepared for a swinging departure. 

“Wait!” you said, “I’m sorry about the waterworks and the yelling… I swear I am usually not this much of a roller coaster. And all those feelings I poured out onto your lap- I shouldn’t have troubled you with… those are things I should be talking about with Peter.”

“And you will. Don’t worry about it, (Y/N), really- I’m serious. I have never thought anything but fondness for you.” And with that, Spidey swung out of the window.


	3. Writing Help

A week or so has passed since your emotional break down with Spider-Man. You still haven’t seen Peter. 

You are in your small “office” (if it could even be called that) at the university’s writing center. You have already seen your two appointments today and now you are just doing some of your own homework waiting for anyone who comes in on a “walk-in” basis. 

That’s when you hear a loud knock on the door. You jump in your seat with a start. 

“Come in!” You holler. 

Slowly opening the door, looking at his feet with strained expression on his face comes your old friend, Peter fucking Parker.

“Oh- Peter… uh- hi. Long time, no see…” you say desperately trying to sound normal.  
He strains to make eye contact with you as he forces a smile to filter through the guilty look on his face. “Hey, (Y/N),” he says as he takes a seat on the opposite side of the desk from you, uncomfortably shuffling a stack of papers in his hands.

Suddenly, you feel a heat rise to your cheeks. You feel exposed and vulnerable. All those things you said to Spider-Man… everything about your past that Peter didn’t know and your feelings for him. How much of that has been relayed to Peter from his superhero friend?

Luckily, your muscle memory kicks in before things become too awkward and you hold out your hand gesturing for him to hand you the stack of papers. He gives them to you and looks down at his hands wringing them in his lap. You take a deep breath grateful for something to do during this awkward encounter and start going to town with your edits. 

You notice a reoccurring misuse of the subjunctive tense. “Pull your chair over here, I want to show you something,” you say, intending to go into teacher mode.

He puts his chair next to yours, close enough to feel heat emanating off his body. You open your mouth to start explaining the error when he jumps in and says, “I’m really sorry, (Y/N)...”

You remove your eyes from the paper daring to face the man that probably knows about all the vulnerable and personal things you said to Spider-Man. 

Looking up from his lap with soft, twinkling puppy dog eyes, your heart starts to melt and he says, “I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you when you needed me. I’m sorry I was so oblivious about- everything.”

At this point you’re thinking that “everything” definitely included your feelings for Peter since you started liking boys. You open your mouth again to say something but your mouth is dry, your tongue feels thick and papery. You can’t seem to force a single word in response. 

So he continues, “I- I know screwed up. I am so sorry if you felt like I was rubbing those other girls in your face, that was not my intention at all I didn’t know-”

“-That’s enough-,” you cut him firmly but in a low decibel. You’re eyes well up with tears at the thought of being so pitiful in Peter’s eyes. You feel so embarrassed and pathetic that you were pining after him all those years and that now he feels like he has to apologize to you for having girlfriends. You really don’t want to hear about the rest of he wants to say because you’re pretty sure it will just be a really gentlemanly way of letting you down easy over some dumb crush you had as a teenager. All the while, you’ll drown once again in those big brown eyes feeling shrunken back into the peak days of your crush and will find feelings start to reverberate. Trying to keep the panic and brokenness out of your voice you say, “Let me just tell you about the subjunctive, finish reading your paper and then you need to leave.”

His eyebrows furrowed together, eyes dimmed, and the corners of his mouth tinged in sadness, but he nodded.


	4. Spidey Comes Back to Your Apartment

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After the emotional writing center incident. Spidey comes by to see what's up and some tension builds.

Your encounter with Peter really shook you up. That was a blast from the past that did not bring back welcomed feelings. 

When you get back to your apartment, you throw your backpack across the room and lay face down on your bed for a little while. 

You have so much homework to do… But you can’t stop replaying your interaction with Peter over and over again in your mind. Where you too harsh? What if he wasn’t pitying you? What if it was all a misunderstanding and he didn’t know about the crush and it was just the other stuff? And those eyes. You couldn’t get your mind off of that handsome face and the sorrowful look displayed on it. 

Face down on a pillow, you can hear the blood rushing in your ears and feel your heart thumping against the comforter. Oh no. All those old feelings were starting to make their way from the deep confines of your mind to the tender surface of your heart. 

You hear a thud on your window and jolt upright. 

Well, what do you know, it’s your favorite Avenger and Peter’s best friend. Spider- Man is waving at you, gesturing for you to open the window.

You open the window reluctantly but don’t let him in, “I don’t feel like talking about it right now.”

“(y/n), please, you have to tell me what happened today at the writing center… I- Peter… Peter is really upset and can’t stop thinking about it.”

“There’s nothing to tell, Spidey, he came in, he apologized, I edited his paper and he left. And that’s that.”

“Why did you shut him out?... And could you please let me in already- I am peering through a window in a costume and I’ve been hit with enough shoes this week…”

You smirk a little. For some reason, you keep forgetting that there’s a normal guy underneath that lycra suit. You let him in and shut the window. He sits on your bed, but you remain standing. “Why did you shut him out?”

You shrug.

“He wants more than anything for you to be back in his life. Please, (y/n), just give him a chance to show you that.”

“Look, I’m a bit embarrassed, okay. I had just a stupid, stupid crush on one of my best friends and no matter what you and Peter say- I can’t imagine that those feelings could ever be returned. Not after all those pretty and perfect girls. Not over someone as average in every possible way as me. Look- it was dumb and stupid- and I’m done with it. I’m over it. Let me just peacefully move on with my life.”

Spider-Man shook his head, “... you are just, so wrong…” he muttered to himself, “... and I can’t make you believe otherwise, now can I?”

Suddenly, your roommate bursts through the door, “What the hell?!” she screams in surprise. You take in the picture. A man in funny costume, sitting on your bed, having a deep heart to heart about a friend you had a crush on a million years ago. You let out a snort through your nose at the absurdity of it all.

You wave your hand dismissively at your roommate, “It’s a really long story… I’ll tell you later.”

She give you an inquisitive look and gestures to the masked man on your bed. 

“Spider-Man is my friend. I promise I will answer all your questions later. Please, just give us a minute.”

“...Okay... “ she says and backs out the door slowly, still very confused. 

“Oh, so Spider-Man is your friend now, but Peter can’t be?” Spidey scoffs. “Go figure,” he mutters. 

You plop down on the bed next to Spidey. “Why is it so important to you that I make up with Peter? Why can’t we be friends and you just leave Peter and I’s problems alone?”

“Because you and Peter are meant to be together. You were always meant to be together. Life got stupid and messed things up for you two before, but it’s bringing you back together now for a reason. Peter- Peter NEEDS you, (y/n). You are the perfect counter-weight in his life, you always have been. The two of you could rule the world together…”

“... I don’t want to rule the world… I just want to finish my degree!” You reply. 

“Well, not like ‘rule the world’ in like a creepy dictatorship, domination kind of way- but just like you know- a really cool power couple,” Spidey says backtracking a little. 

You let out a heavy sigh and lean into Spider-Man, resting your head on his shoulder and he jolts a little at the sudden affection. Absent mindedly, he puts his arm around you and rubs your shoulder affirmingly, pulling you in closer.  
“I don’t know, Spidey, I think I am under-qualified to be part of a power couple. Buy YOU. You and Pete could make a great power couple… I could definitely see that.”

“Wait!” Spider-Man says pulling back a little to look at you, “Do you think I have a crush on Peter?”

“I don’t know! Maybe! I mean, you’re obviously very close to him, you’re a lot like him in many ways, you seem to have his happiness in mind and I mean… You wear a tight spandex suit… I don’t know a lot of straight guys that wear that…” 

Spider-Man laughs in disbelief, “...Ok, I see where you’re coming from. But no, I am just Peter’s best friend and advocate. As for the suit… ask Tony Stark… Okay, I don’t have a crush on Peter.”

His laugh was so endearing. It reminded you of Peter’s laugh, the one that always made you swoon. You couldn’t help but blush and wrap Spider-Man into an accidentally more than friendly hug. You could hear his breathing hitch as a more than friendly tension thickened in the air. 

Your body firmly pressed rubbed against his skin tight suit in the hug and he certainly seemed to notice. His grip around you tightened keeping you dangerously close to him. 

You look up at him, faces close together, heart- thumping out of control, “What if I don’t believe you? Prove to me that you’re not in love with Peter.”

Spider-Man was picking up what you were putting down. With one arm still around you, he used the other to slowly peel up his mask, but only to the nose. He started to lean in, passion oozing in his every movement. 

But before he got close enough, he jolted away. He let go of you and sprang off the bed. “I can’t do this! I can’t do this! I can’t do this I can’t do this! I can’t do this! Not like this!” he says in frantic panic stuttering backwards. 

“What’s wrong!? Spidey, what’s wrong?!”

“It needs to be Peter. It has to be Peter! I can’t… do this one for him!”

“What are you talking about? What is that supposed to mean?”

“I’m so, so sorry, (y/n),” he says walking over to you, cupping your face in his hands. “You have no idea how much I want- but- Peter- Peter loves you, (y/n), he loves you so much! You are so beautiful, sexy and smart and he just adores every inch of you- Please! Please! Go talk to him! Hear him out. You two should be together and I can’t be his go between anymore.”   
You grab his big, strong hands away from your face and hold them. Spider-Man looks at you pleadingly. “I’m sorry… I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable… If you don’t like me like that- that’s fine. I just got caught up… and I misread the situation”

“Oh, (y/n), Oh, (y/n), you have no idea, how badly I want to kiss you. How badly I want to push you down on that bed and kiss every inch of you until the sun comes up. But I can’t- for very complicated reasons- because you have to work out things with Peter first.”

“I know Peter, is your best friend, and I guess I understand why this would put you in a bad position. So, if I give Peter a second chance at friendship and hear him out… will there then be a chance for you and me?”

“It’s very, very complicated and I really can’t give you a straight answer to that. But please- talk to Peter tonight.”

“Tonight? I don’t know if I can stomach any more of this tonight. Plus, my roommate is dragging me to one of her friend’s parties.”

“Please, the sooner the better, it really won’t take long. Can I give Peter your address and maybe he could stop by after the party?”

“Uh, sure, I guess. But I might just pass out as soon as I get home. That’s what usually happens. But if I happen to be up when he comes by, I guess I won’t turn him away.”

“Great! That’s all I’m asking for. I will see you- I will see you later! But like much later! Because I’m Spider-Man and I have stuff to… do... “ he said awkwardly backing away from you going towards the window. He shook his head at his own stupidity and it made you chuckle. He readjusted his mask so that it was covering is full face again and he exited out the window.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is going to be a little different. You will also get a little bit of Peter's point of view.

**Peter Parker** : _What the hell were you thinking, Peter_ __ _?_ He thought to himself as he swung through the city as the masked hero. _If you had kissed her as Spider-Man and she found it was you… she’d never trust you again. You have to end this duplicity right now. If she doesn’t want to be friends with Peter Parker, as much as it kills you, you can’t let her date Spider-Man. It’d be wrong. No more masked hero talks in her bedroom. The worst thing you could do is let her down again. Plus, it’s dangerous for Spider-Man to be in love with her. If you keep visiting her apartment in costume and it gets around… people that want to hurt you will know how to hurt her._

 **Y/N** : After you push through a few hours of homework, you decide to call it quits and take a shower. You try to wash away all the stress of homework and Peter and Spider-Man and all the stupid shit that happened today. You just want to go to this party, forget about everything and let loose a little.

When you get out of the shower, you pick out an outfit for the night and start on your makeup. Your roommate asks you million questions about her outfit and makeup. She’s trying to impress some guy that’s recently single and hosting this party. She is dragging you along for emotional support, which you are happy to provide since it will mean spending time not thinking about Spider-Man or Peter.

The two of you leave the apartment. Your roommate is a total knockout tonight and you feel kind of like a troll doll standing next to her as an immediate comparison. Your roommate insists that you look beautiful too, but for some reason you’ve had trouble believing people lately. Especially since Spider-man entered your life.

 **Peter Parker** : Doing his typical Friday night rounds, he’s stopped two muggings, a robbery, and one kitten stuck on a fire escape. He sat perched on the ledge of a residential building near campus to take a quick rest. That’s when he saw y/n and her roommate walking down the block. Like finding a needle in a haystack, she caught Peter’s eye immediately despite the heavy foot traffic on that block. “Wow,” he whispered to himself involuntarily when he saw how beautiful she looked.

They walk into an apartment complex greeted by a big jock-type guy in an expensive sweater. Her roommate jumps on him with an excited hug. He jolts back a little surprised. (Y/n) gives him a half hearted one arm side hug with an uncomfortable look on her face. Good, Peter thought to himself, jealous at the thought of her enjoying another man’s touch. Especially when she looked as gorgeous as she did right now.

Snapping him out of his trance, his Spidey senses started tingling, and he swung away to confront another robber.

 **Y/N** : The party was pretty lit. Things with your roommate and that guy seemed to be going pretty well. So you tried to give them some space. However, you also didn’t really know anyone else at the party so it was a little awkward. That’s when you decided to hit the drinks, and perhaps a little harder than you had planned.

When your roommate disappeared into this guy’s bedroom, all those thoughts about Peter and Spider-Man started swirling back in. Uh, oh.

You stumbled into the bathroom. You took a long hard look at yourself in the mirror although the room spun a little. Your makeup is a bit smudged and hair a bit messy. You were getting dangerously close to the realm of “hot mess”. _Pull it together, y/n_ , you tell yourself.  
You leave the bathroom and start to mingle with the other party goers. A guy starts to harmlessly flirt with you and you try to flirt back just for fun. Just a fun little ego boost you thought. At one point, you were sitting very close to this guy on the couch. In your slightly buzzed state, it suddenly seemed like a brilliant idea to give him a peck on the cheek. The man smiled and turned towards you to kiss you, but you felt yourself jolt away almost involuntarily.

The guy started apologizing profusely, thinking that he crossed a line. “No, I’m sorry,” you said, “I don’t know why I did that… I just need some air, I think…”

You walk outside the apartment building into the cold night air. Your face is flushed red with heat burning off of them. You needed to start sobering up and figure what just happened. You saw a cute guy. He flirted with you. You flirted back. You made a move. He enjoyed it. He made a similar move. You fly backwards out of range. Why did you do that? Where is this nonsense coming from?

Your heart started to thump harder, and you felt constricting pain encircle it. You didn’t let the guy kiss you, because you’re already really into someone else. That’s it, isn’t it.

 **Peter Parker** : He sat, once again, perched on a building by the apartment building where the party was at. In between missions, he found himself coming back there. He kept telling himself it was to see if the party was over yet and y/n would be home so that he could talk to her as Peter Parker. But he knew deep down that he kept coming back on the off chance he’d see a glimpse of her and maybe, if he was lucky, she would look to the rooftops and see him and give him one of those heart melting smiles.

Peter stared at the door of the building, trying to will it open with his mind. Even though he knew he didn’t have that type of super power. But after 10 minutes of staring… it seemed to work.

Y/n walked out the door and onto the stoop of the building. She looked unhappy and cold. Her arms wrapped around herself and doubled over slightly. She seemed upset and confused.

Peter watched her, unsure of what he should do. Should he comfort her as Spider-Man, should he give her space or should he call it a night and dress back down into Peter Parker? He checked the time. It was 1:30am. That was kind of early for Spider-Man to get off duty. Especially on a Friday.

 _But I’m also Peter Parker_ , he thought to himself, _Peter Parker is allowed to have an early night once in awhile. I’m just a college student, after all. I can take a break. There are plenty of other heroes in New York._ But just to be sure he texted a few other heroes to let them know that he was off duty, ‘I got to see about a girl,’ he said to them.

A few blocks over was his own apartment, where he quickly changed back into Peter Parker. Then, walking this time, went back towards the apartment where y/n was.

He was disappointed to see that y/n was no longer on the stoop, but he got lucky enough to catch the door as a group of girls were leaving. He followed the noise down the hall to find the unit the party was in. The door was left unlocked and he walked in. He took a quick visual scan of the room, when he saw finally saw, y/n, across the room. She was so pretty and he stared for perhaps too long. They made eye contact.

But that’s when he realized that she was standing very close to another man.


	6. Chaper 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This will be the last chapter:( I will be writing another Spider-Man piece soon. I may even come back to continue this same storyline later- who knows?! So be on the look out if you enjoyed this. I hope the ending is satisfying.

You were talking to that boy you kissed and caught someone staring in the corner of your eye. You looked across the room and saw that it was Peter. Peter? What was Peter doing here? But more importantly, why does it look like he just went through hell and back again?

His hair a bit messy, a black eye starting to show coloration and couple fresh looking cuts that definitely weren’t there when you saw him in the writing center. 

After eye contact that seemed like it lasted a decade, Peter started making his way through the crowd, coming right towards you. 

The guy you kissed was still yammering on about his 5-year plan, completely oblivious to the fact that you were too distracted to listen. 

Your heart started racing so fast, you felt like you just finished a sprint. You weren’t ready for this yet. You didn’t expect to talk to Peter until after the party, if at all. 

“Y/n,” Peter said when he reached you there was a solemn twinkle in his eyes, “I know we were supposed to talk after the party, but I don’t want to put it off any longer.”

You looked to the guy you were talking to, looking for an answer of how to handle all of this. The guy put his hands up in surrender, “Whoa- okay- I didn’t know, you had a boyfriend. I’m sorry! Looks like you two have some talking to do,” and backed away. 

“No! He’s not my boyfriend! He’s just a- a- stupid old friend of mine! He’s no one!” You shouted after the guy. But he gave you this look of ‘you seem like more trouble than fun’ and you knew that you had lost him. 

You turn to Peter and he had a look of hurt in his eyes that he tried to hold back, “Ouch…” he said. “I-I didn’t realize that’s what you thought about me- I- I’m sorry if I interrupted something- I- can leave and let you get back to… whatever you want to get back to.”

“No! Peter, that’s not what I meant! I didn’t really mean what I said- I just- I just- I don’t know! I just have been doing one dumb and shitty thing after another today! And I’m just such a mess, my life is a dumpster fire and I got way more drunk than I wanted too and I’m still pretty tipsy and I just don’t know what I am doing- ever- but especially tonight- Peter- I’m sorry about everything!”

“Y/n, calm down, it’s okay-”

“Why are you broken?!” you interject, “Did you get hit by a bus? What the fuck happened to you? Are we gonna talk about that?”

“What?- oh- OH- oh- uh, yeah, don’t worry about it- it’s fine. You know? Why don’t we get you some food to help you sober up a bit.”

“Good! I’m fucking starving, my roommate wouldn’t let me eat dinner before this thing.” 

Peter knew exactly where to take you. The two of you went to the 24 hour diner you would meet at in high school. Peter gave you an arm to hold onto in and out of the cab, which you desperately clung to in your lack of balance. You couldn't help but notice how strong his arms were. On your way into the diner, you stumbled and he caught you. You couldn’t tell if your reflexes were just dramatically slow from the alcohol or if his were weirdly fast. 

Sitting in your usual booth, “Just like old times,” you say. You order waffles and he gets pancakes.

The bright lights in the diner burn garishly bright and it hurts your eyes a bit. Exhausted, you put your head down on the cold linoleum table waiting for your food to come. In the corner of your eye you can see Peter wringing his hands. But he remains quiet. You can hear the clock on the wall ticking and the sound of Peter tapping his foot anxiously under the table. 

When your food comes you pick up your head with a sigh of relief and dig in. The quiet was comfortable. Just two old friends eating in silence. But as you sobered up, you knew the two of you couldn’t avoid talking anymore. Peter seemed too nervous to start. 

“Thanks for getting dinner with me, Peter,” you say as you are finishing up. 

He looks up from his plate for the first time since it came. He looks you dead in the eyes with a devastatingly sincere look. “...I’m sorry I let our friendship fall apart...”

You shrug indifferently, “Friends grow apart sometimes... It’s not anyone’s fault, it just happens.” 

“...But I’ve really missed you…”

“There were days that I missed our friendship, too. You know, just thinking about the good old days and stuff-”

“I’ve missed you every day,” He said cropping you short. You start to say something but you are so taken aback that you just stutter. 

He continues, “I dropped the ball, Y/n. I dropped the ball and then I got scared and ran. A lot of things changed in high school. Life was coming at me fast and I didn’t know how to handle it. I tried to impress you. I tried to make you think I was cool- which is so stupid because- we both know I’ve never been cool. But I did these things in a childish attempt to make you think that I was worthy of you. And to think that whole time, I was so ignorant to the fact that you were going through such a rough time! And then college was around the corner and I felt like it was ‘now or never’ to tell you the truth- but I doubted myself, and started freaking out about all this stupid shit and I just thought it would be easier to try to forget about. But it wasn’t. You were the one that got away. I let you slip through my fingers and so when I saw you that night-” He stopped himself short. 

“What? What night?” you asked, very confused. 

“I- I- I actually happened to see you at the library the same night you saw my friend,” he said in an uneasy tone. 

“You mean the night Spider-Man saved me from a mugger?”

“Shhh!” Peter said waving his hands at you to keep it down. “Let’s not draw attention to the fact that we know that guy. He’s got a lot of enemies in this town.”

“Well, if we want this talk to be productive we should probably go back to my place, because I have a lot of questions about your friend.”

So you Peter paid the check, you insisted on splitting it, but he wouldn’t let you. He said he owed you more than the price of waffles. You grabbed a cab back to your apartment. When you walked in, Peter plopped on your bed like it was familiar to him or as if he had done it before. You sat in a chair on the other side of the room.

“So how did you meet Spider-Man?” You ask.

“I will answer all of your Spider-Man questions, later, I promise. Right now, I want to make things right with you,” he said. He took a deep breath,“Y/n, I’m tired of running away from this. I want to be there for you. I want to make sure nothing bad happens to you ever again.”

“What exactly are you running away from, Peter?” you say. 

He looks down at his feet, wringing his hands in his lap, “I mean Spider-Man already told you.”

“Spider-Man has told me a lot of things. But if you aren’t ‘running from it’ any more than you are going to have to say it for me to believe you.”

“... I have feelings for you, y/n…”

“Why? Peter, you have endless options. You are the smartest man I know, you’re funny, you’re kind and handsome. How am I supposed to believe you’d ever want to be with a hot mess like me?” You felt some tears enter your eyes but you held them back. 

“But you believed Spider-Man, when he told you he wanted to kiss you, right? Why can’t you believe me?”

He had a good point. “...You see, Spider-Man, while a superhero- I still don’t know him very well yet- he could be anyone and no one under that mask. I know you, Peter Parker. That’s what’s terrifying. I know every side of every dark edge and corner, and even in the face of your worst qualities, you are still an amazing man. I know you and that’s why I know you deserve more than me.”

“No, no, no, y/n. Seriously, stop that nonsense. I guess I can’t make you believe anything that you refuse to see. But please, y/n, please, more than believing me you need to believe in yourself. You’re beautiful, smart- especially in the ways that I’m not-, and even spending this short amount of time with you has brought so much fulfillment to my life that I forgot was missing. You were my best friend and you were always meant to be my partner. I won’t live without you in my life anymore, y/n. I can’t live my life without you anymore. I want to be with you in every possible way, but if you want to be just friends then I’ll take it. I just want to be around you again.”

You stood up, walked across the room and sat next to him. You don’t even remember moving, there was a tug in your heart that pulled you towards him as if on an invisible reel. You sat very close to him. Almost touching. There was a palpable tension in the air between you two like the electric charge in warm summer air just before a thunderstorm.

You lean a little more towards him, looking down, and he leans in to face you. “You’re right. I haven’t believed in myself lately, but I want to. And I need to. I know that.” You place your hand on top of Peter’s and he takes your fingers into a firm and reassuring grip. You lean your forehead against his and say, “I want you in my life, Peter. My life, no matter how difficult, was always better with you in it. I was always more sure of myself. You never let me doubt myself. I’ve tried life without you and it clearly wasn’t the best. Peter, I want to be more than your frie-”

Before you could finish your sentence, Peter leaned in all the way and kissed you with a fervent desire. You kissed him back and he wrapped his arms around you. His lips were warm and comforting. Kissing him was effortless, as if your lips were made to be connected. You were so glad Spider-Man pulled away from the kiss earlier because there is no way that it would every amount to even half as good as this moment with Peter.

You put a hand on his chest and you could feel his heart pounding. You could hear his breath hitch and his grip tightened like he was about to lose himself. He broke away from the kiss for a moment to pick you up and lay you down on your bed properly. He kissed you like he was making up for lost time. You reached up to put a hand to his face but remembered the bruising. 

You gently pushed him off and asked, “Are we gonna talk about those bruises now?”

He smiled down at you, his smile so wide you almost couldn’t see the black eye, you were the reason for that smile. He started kissing your neck and jawline and in between kisses said, “Let’s just say, that I want to make good on something I told you earlier today.”

You had a flashback to earlier that day when Spider-Man said he want to “kiss every inch of you until the sun came up.” It finally hit you, “Oh my goodness! You’re Spider-Man-” 

He quickly clamped a hand over your mouth,”Shh, yes,” he whispered. 

“I feel so dumb now, that I didn’t figure that out earlier. There were so many signs! Everything makes sense now!”

“Don’t feel bad. It’s hard to imagine that someone you’ve known your whole life would turn into a superhero and be able to keep it a secret from you. Which trust me, it was VERY hard. I am so relieved that you know, now. It’s been hard not having someone at ESU to fall back on with Spider-Man stuff.”

“So wait, who gave you those bruises?”

“Oh, it was gang. They got in quite a few more licks than I’m proud of…” and he saw the look of horror on your face, “It doesn’t happen every night, don’t worry. Plus, there are always other heroes to save my butt- like tonight it was Squirrel Girl. So please, don’t worry about me.” 

Oh, but you will and you can’t help it. “Just promise me I can help you get fixed up when you get hurt on the job.”

“That’d be really helpful actually,” he said and kissed you on the nose. Then he started giving you little kisses all over your face and it made you giggle. 

In between kisses he said, “Y/n, I can’t even describe to you how much I’ve missed you in my life.” He continues to kiss you and then says, “I can’t wait to tell Aunt May, you’re my girlfriend! She has been waiting for this since I met you…”

“So have I…” you chuckle.

At this point, it’s almost dawn, and Peter fulfills his promise.


End file.
